Solutions: It's hard to find a MailStation e-mail replacement

I'm sending this message on my MailStation and wonder if you know of such a unit. I bought it several years ago at Best Buy. I have checked lately and no one seems to know what happened to the makers of it. The MailStation is all I and others might need who are not interested in all the junk it takes to be a computer person. The MailStation merely sends and receives messages; no photos, no attachments and no Internet. I would like to replace mine with a newer model but have no idea if they exist. Do you have any information on such a unit?

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Very interesting, and no, I was not aware of that machine. Some Internet searching shows it as a discontinued item. I came across other services that allow two-way e-mail using a fax machine. However, at $8 a month, I'm not sure how practical this is. You can find more info at www.mycelery.com. Oops, forgot, no computer. You can call them toll-free at 1-866-692-3537.

I have a Dell Dimension E310 and use Windows XP Service Pack 3. After going through MSConfig Start Up, I found all the items needed at startup. I used www.processid.com and www.processlibrary.com and Google per your column. There are many items that are no longer checked. For the items stay unchecked, do I have to leave the MSConfig in Selective Startup? Or may I delete these items from the startup? If yes, how do I delete them? If I leave it in Selective Startup, do I have the ability to launch System Restore? Right now System Restore doesn't work. Or is lack of System Restore a separate issue?

When you get the "Selective Startup" window at startup, check the "Don't show this message or launch the System Configuration Utility when Windows Starts" option. You can delete the unchecked Startup tab items through the System Registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SharedTools\MSConfig\startup­reg but unless you are comfortable with editing the registry (and do proper backups like creating a System Restore, which you say isn't working) my recommendation is to just let it be. The Selective Startup shouldn't have an effect on System Restore. You didn't specify the exact nature of your failed System Restore issue but that can be indicative of a few things including some viruses. Make sure your system is up-to-date with all antivirus definitions and security updates.

Send questions to personaltech@sptimes.com or Personal Tech, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Questions are answered only in this column.